Are you having a traditional Chinese wedding and banquet? Have you been searching far and wide for a Save the Date that reflects the color red and has beautiful chinese lanterns or chinese double happiness symbols? Did you know that the sign for double happiness celebrates the union of a husband and wife and their two families? I know I’m not an expert on Chinese calligraphy but I’ve always thought that the characters for double happiness actually look like a couple standing together.

I have gotten a number of requests from asian brides or grooms looking for Asian or Chinese Save the Dates. Luckily I have done a lot of the homework for you. Below are what I was able to find from some of the top wedding card designers. Maybe one will be perfect for your Chinese Wedding and Chinese Banquet!

Double Happiness
This Save the Date design by Paper Culture puts the focus on your personalized picture. But at the bottom there is a double happiness symbol and information on your upcoming wedding. Perfect to announce for a Chinese Banquet wedding.

Oriental Elegance
This is a very simple and traditional Chinese Save the Date card. It features a cream colored card with a red double happiness symbol at the top. The information on your wedding date and venue are printed in a matching red cursive font.

Graceful Bamboo
This Save the Date Card from Wedding Paper Divas has a beautiful deep red color. The double happiness symbol is up on the upper left and there is a beautiful bamboo stalk on the side. This is probably my favorite for a Chinese Save the Date card.

Sweet Lanterns
This Chinese Save the Date card from Good on Paper is a more modern take as it does not feature the color red. Instead there is a pretty melon color. I really adore the Chinese lanterns and the little bird cages. And the two little birds over on the bottom right are a wonderful touch.

If you want something different for your Save the Date cards you may want to look at new Circle Save the Dates from Wedding Paper Divas. These are beautifully designed cards that a pre-cut as perfect 5.25 inch diameter circles so you don’t have to do any additional work. Circles are the perfect shape to use for weddings since they do represent so many wonderful things like the circle of a promise ring or the circle of life that you may want to begin shortly after marriage. Or not.

With circles you can get pretty creative with the designs of the Save the Date cards. I really like the record Save the Date as well as the way pictures look on a circle Save the Date.

Some of the Save the Date circle cards feature your own custom picture while others are more simple and just speak to the name of the bride and groom and the date of your wedding nuptials. The tree designed circle is one of my favorites in that it really uses the shape of the card to blend into the Save the Date design.

Sometimes nothing beats having a simple photo on your Save the Dates. My husband commented that these could make great Save the Date coasters. I suppose how your guests use the cards is up to them.

I am SO excited by this news. Wedding Paper Divas now carries new formats for Save the Dates. In addition to the fantastic Save the Date cards they finally are selling magnet Save the Dates and Postcard Save the Dates!

I’ve been requesting this from the company for years. I think there was a concern that magnets did not fit the high quality expected of Wedding Paper Divas. It’s not an easy process to create a Save the Date magnet that looks clean and not “made at home” if you know what I mean. So they took some time to really do it right!

They were really smart in that they took some of the best selling Save the Date card designs and used the same or similar designs for magnet Save the Dates. I’ve ordered these magnets and postcards and can attest that the quality is as high as anywhere else I have seen. Wedding Paper Divas definitely did their homework and it’s a welcome addition that gives future brides a solid choice in the magnet and Postcard area.

Most Save the Dates are printed using digital offset printing which is essentially flat printing. To get a more unique Save the Date card you may want to look at Thermography or Letterpress. I think these are upgrades that can be really worth it. For those of you who are not familiar with it, thermography is a beautiful way to create unique wedding Save the Dates. Be warned that it can be expensive but it’s a wonderful effect to see the raised elements on a fine weight paper stationary card. While I won’t explain the entire process it is similar to engraving. A special powder is injected into the ink when printed on paper. The paper is then heated and the powder and ink combine together when drying to form a raised effect.

Thermography can be found on wedding invitations, letterheads, greeting cards, business cards, etc. While it is pricey compared to flat printing it is often called the economical version of letterpress. I’ve even heard it called the cubic zirconia of letterpress as only a distinguishing eye can tell the difference!

Letterpress printing is a very similar raised printing process that is even more expensive than Thermography. It is a much older process that that involves moveable type and images. In this process the surface of the typeface is inked and then pressed in the card that works well for graphic designs. Letterpress has became increasingly popular as it allows designers to do unique custom cards. Letterpress is very time intensive and for every color it costs more so be careful in choosing a design and colors. Unfortunately, Wedding Paper Divas does not offer Letterpress Save the Dates. They do offer Letterpress Wedding Invitations.

As many of you know our favorite place to buy Save the Dates is from Wedding Paper Divas. So we were pleased to discover that Wedding Paper Divas now offers a physical catalog that you can sign up to receive via mail. The Wedding Paper Divas Catalog is totally FREE and includes their complete collection of wedding invitations, Save the Date cards, stationary accessories, etc.

It also offers tips and tricks including tips on planning your wedding, inpspiration on various styles of weddings, and of course a wedding stationery checklist. While I’m a big fan of online information I can’t wait to see the collection of their Save the Dates in a stunning paper catalog. I will spend many hours perusing it. The catalog is only available to US based addresses and they can not ship to PO boxes or APO/FPO addresses. Once you order your catalog it will take about 5-7 days for delivery.

I know with the economy that many of you want to save money on your Save the Dates. Remember that getting cheap Save the Dates does not always mean you have to compromise and buy low quality cards. You just have to be a smart shopper. To make it easy, I have compiled a list of tips for how to get inexpensive Save the Date cards and save money.

1. Do Your Research
The first thing you need to do to find cheap save the date cards is to do your research. What you need to do is understand what the various offerings are. Luckily, with the Internet you can do research from the comfort of your own home and explore the many places to buy Save the Dates. If you’ve come to SaveTheDates.com you are in luck because we have done a lot of the hard work for you. We are familiar with all of the vendors online.

If you want to spend as little as possible we recommend VistaPrint. They have pretty basic cards that start as low as $0.69 per card. And they even have a deal where you can get your first 30 cards for free (terms apply).

Another inexpensive option is Postcards.com. They have cards that cost only a little over $1.00 per card. Just check out their wedding collection in the greeting cards area.

2. Find Save the Date Coupons or Deals
Many Save the Date providers have sales or promotions that can save you money for shopping for certain products or if you use a coupon code. We compile all the latest Save the Date coupons and deals on a weekly basis. If you are patient and have time to wait many Save the Date vendors will have sales every 2-3 months or so.

Also, for some vendors you can save money by signing up for their email newsletters. Basically, you sign up to receive emails from them and as a reward they will send you a coupon to save money on your first purchase.

3. Compare Quality & Cost
The old mantra of you get what you pay for is definitely still true. I like to look for the best value for what I buy. The way I work is I set a budget for a purchase. Once I have a clear idea for how much I want to spend I look for what the best options are in my price range. Based on that I look for the highest quality product for the best price. Sometimes I end up spending on the high end of my budget to get the best value!

4. Consider Postcards
With Save the Dates Postcards you don’t have to worry about envelopes. So you save the cost of envelopes. You also pay less in postage since the postage fee for an envelope is $0.28 vs. $0.44 for an envelope. So you save $0.18 per Save the Date. If you have a lot of guests that can add up!

You can find postcard Save the Dates at Wedding Paper Divas that start at only $0.94 cents per card.

5. Buy in Volume
For many vendors the more cards you buy the more money you save. To get the best pricing you often have to buy more than 100 cards. If you don’t have that many invites to send then it doesn’t make sense to buy extra cards that won’t be used. Although, I do always recommend to my friends to buy at least 5-15 cards more than they think they will use. Sometimes you just forget someone and you will also want to keep a few as keepsakes to remember.

You can also save money by buying all your wedding stationary from the same company. For example if you buy your wedding Save the Dates, bridal shower invites, wedding invitations and thank you cards from the same place you can get discounts. In fact Wedding Paper Divas has an offer where you can get free Save the Dates. Basically how it works is they give you a coupon for the price of your Save the Dates that you can use towards your wedding invitations.

Save the Date Postcards are a great alternative to magnets or traditional cards. One benefit of the Save the Dates postcards is that they often are less expensive. Vendors typically provide a set price for cards and envelopes. So postcards are usually less expensive than traditional Save the Date card and envelopes because you don’t have to pay for envelopes. Also, postage costs are lower. According to the US postal service website, postcards cost $0.28 to mail vs. $0.44 for a standard letter. So that is a savings of $0.16 per card. That may not seem like a lot of money but if you have a lot of guests it can really add up. For example, for a 100 person wedding that is an increased cost of $16. But for a 300 person wedding that could be $48 in extra cost. Save the postage so that you can instead spend on something nice for yourself.

Postcards often come in similar designs to Save the Date cards. Wedding Paper Divas has some of the best Save the Date postcards.

Another benefit is that Save the Date postcards can save you time as you don’t have to take the effort to place each card in an envelope and seal it. Trust me that my husband and I spent an entire 2 evenings stuffing envelopes and licking and closing the envelopes. My tongue can still taste all the glue from the envelopes!

Please be aware that one downside of choosing a Save the Date postcard is that postcards have less privacy than letters that can be sealed in envelopes. So if you are concerned about the mail man seeing your wedding details you may want to consider Save the Date cards instead.

MagnetStreet Weddings has a great selection of Save the Date postcards. For example, check out the following beautiful postcard designs:

You can also buy Save the Date postcards from Zazzle. Here is an example of the front and back of one of the Zazzle offerings:

Many people want a Save the Date card or design that reflects the theme of the wedding. For example, if you are getting married in Hawaii you might want a “Beach Themed” Save the Date that reflects the beach vibe. So something with palm trees or seashells could be appropriate. Maybe something like this:

Or if you are having a winter wedding you may want to have a Winter Save the Date card with snowflakes and snowmen. So maybe something like this design:

If you are having a traditional Chinese wedding with a full 12 course Chinese banquet then you may want to have a ethnic Save the Date. For example, you could choose this Chinese Save the Date card:

Luckily many of the Save the Date vendors offer themed Save the Dates. In fact Wedding Paper Divas offers the ability to select and filter Save the Date cards by theme. Just visit their Save the Dates page and look at the left hand column labeled “Themes”. You will be able to choose from any of the following:

Beach (e.g. the Caribbean, Hawaii Save the Dates)

Destination Save the Dates (e.g. San Francisco Save the Dates or New York Save the Dates)